The Symmetry Of 'Sherlock' Is Enough To Rattle Your Adler

Editor at MP. Twin Peaks, classics, a bit of this, a bit of that. Email me at [email protected]

Since Plato waxed Poetics (actually by Aristotle, but puns) about the nature of beauty, and Leonardo da Vinci designed his Vitruvian Man, it's become abundantly clear that humanity is pretty darned stoked about all things symmetrical. From Stanley Kubrick to Wes Anderson, filmmakers have upheld this glorious tradition by incorporating the technique into their movies to give us the sweet aesthetic satisfaction that only perfection can inspire.

Clearly this love of equal proportions is not lacking in showrunner Steven Moffat because, have you noticed how incredibly symmetrical Sherlock — the famed Benedict Cumberbatch-starring BBC mystery show — is? Well, maybe that gentle massage on your eyes that only glorious symmetry can give is one of the reasons you love the show so much, because it's chock full of it. Self-proclaimed "ginger communicologist" Celia Gómez has carefully crafted a video collection expounding just how freakishly perfect the show's shots are. Even Sherlock would be impressed! Check. it. out:

Whoa, right?

I mean, look at this beautiful madness:

There is nothing more symmetrical than an Olympic pool... except for a symmetrical shot of an Olympic pool.

Or this:

Sweet Jesus that symmetry gives my shivers!

How about this, da Vinci?

Great (Andrew) Scott!

How now, Plato?

This has got me all Adlered.

This is just too much!

His head is smack dab in the center!

OK, just one more:

Sherlock's spine is perfectly aligned with the freaking line!

Well, that's some damn sexy symmetry right there. Hats off to Steven Moffat and the entire cinematographic team working on Sherlock; I can guarantee these shots would have sent Plato, da Vinci, and all the other art theory bigwigs into paroxysms of ecstasy.